The NEF

The New Entrepreneurs Foundation (NEF) aims to provide the UK’s leading entrepreneurial training programme to fast-track young, talented, aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. We do this by selecting the UK’s brightest and most entrepreneurial young people and by providing them with a unique, 12-month programme which consists of five main components: a paid work placement in an entrepreneurial company; an intensive fast-track learning programme; monthly speaker & networking events; an executive coach and a business mentor. Through this programme, our New Entrepreneurs are equipped with the hands-on experience, skills and networks to build scalable businesses.

Some more info:

So the NEF is a London based charity with a mission to nurture and promote entrepreneurship and start up businesses in the UK. Each year the NEF takes on a class or ‘cohort’ of around 30 young aspiring entrepreneurs and business minds, with the aim of providing us the best programme of learning, hands-on work experience, and networking events etc. to equip us with the tools to successfully launch or grow our own business ventures now and in the future.
The New Entrepreneurs Foundation is sponsored and supported by a large group of highly successful and prestigious businesses including Virgin, TalkTalk, McKinsey & Company, Deloitte, Tesco, and Diageo to name but a few. The board of Founders and Trustees behind the NEF is impressive to say the least and is headed up by Oliver Pawle, previous Vice-Chairman of the Investment Banking Division at UBS. More information on the structure and leadership of the NEF can be found here; http://www.newentrepreneursfoundation.co.uk/our-leadership
The NEF class of 2014 will begin in September 2013 and currently there are 36 of us due to participate. The NEF programme is in its third year of running now, and having spoken to a number of alumni from the 2012 and 2013 classes, I can’t wait to get stuck in and experience all the NEF has to offer.